Why Dom?
by alannalovingwriter
Summary: [Complete] Something terrible has happened to Dom...can Kel deal with it?
1. Prologue

AN: I don't own the characters, they belong to Tamora Pierce. I was really sad when I wrote this....no flames please...

Kel stared out her window, not really seeing the rain-drenched world before her. Hearing a knock on her door, Kel turned around as Neal entered. Crossing the room, he hugged his best friend, glad to see her after the war.

"Kel, what's wrong?" Even though her Yamani mask was on, Neal could sense something was bothering her.

"Oh, Neal! Why?" She exclaimed, tears flashing down her face. "Why?"

"Kel, what are you talking about?"

"Why did he have to die?" Kel sobbed into Neal's shirt.

"Who?" Neal asked, wrapping comforting arms around Kel.

"Dom" was the one word Kel said before completely dissolving into tears. It wasn't like her to cry like this, but Gods, _why Dom?_


	2. Child

Kel opened her eyes and immediately wished she could fall back asleep. Her heart still felt as if someone had torn it out. And her stomach--Kel lurched to the privy to be sick. She's never been ill before, but now in the mornings...she would have to see a healer soon.

"Kel!" Neal yelled through her door, "You need to eat!" Kel yanked her door open, staring at Neal through blooshot eyes. "You haven't been sleeping, have you?" Neal asked.

"I keep seeing him dying...I can't live with these dreams." Neal looked at his frieds with worried emerald eyes.

"Kel, I know it's hard, but you need to take care of yourself. Now, get dressed and we'll head down to breakfast."

"I'm not hungry."

"I don't care, get dressed." As soon as Neal shut her door, Kel returned to bed, staring at the ceiling. Half and candlemark later, Kel heard her door open, but paid it no attention. She felt strong arms haul her out of bed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked Alanna and Buri.

"Making sure you eat. If you don't want to get dressed, we'll do it for you." Kel only shurgged. The two older women looked at each other, the proceeded to stuff Kel into breeches and a tunic. Both Alanna and Buri grabbed Kel's arms, marching her to the mess. Neal was waiting for them, having already gotten Kel a bowl of porridge.

"Eat," he demanded. When Kel made no move to obey, he glared at her.

"You're being childish," Alanna accused.

"I'm not hungry!"

"Kel, you haven't eaten in two days! I'm worried about you," Neal said. Buri's arm wrapped around Kel's head, clamping down on her nose. When she opened her mouth to gasp for air, Alanna shoved a spoonful of porridge in. Coughing, Kel conceded, "Fine, I'll eat!" A few bites in, Kel paled and rushed from the room to be sick. Cool hands rested on her forehead as Neal's green magic rushed through her.

"Mithros!" he gasped, "Kel, you're with child!" Kel slid to her knees, tears falling down her face. Neal wrapped comforting arms around his best friend. This display of emotion unnerved him, he was used to Kel hiding behind her mask.

"What am I going to do? Dom's dead and I'm with child! I can't deal with this!"

"Shh...are you saying that your friends won't help? You know both Yuki and I will be there for you."

"I'll help too," Alanna interjected. She had followed Kel and Neal, watching them in silence.

"I'm not ready to be a single mother."

"You could always get rid of it..." Neal suggested quietly.

"NO! This is all I have left of Dom." Kel began crying again, she still had not gotten over his passing.

AN: I don't own the characters, they belong to Tamora Pierce....please R&R!


	3. Memories

Disclaimer: I own nothing (except the plot....) Please review...it makes me happy....and I'm sorry it's taking me so long to update....this story is harder to write that fluff....

__

_Kel rode into the clearing, hearing the sounds of battle ahead of her. Unsheathing Griffin, she rode toward the nearest Scanran and thrust him through. Kel made her way toward the center of the fighting, where hte men of the Own had formed a tight circle. Kel heard a man scream, and saw someone fall from his horse with an arrow sprouting from his neck. _

_"Dom!" Kel threw herself from the saddle and pulled him inside the circle of the Own. _

_"Kel," Dom said weakly, "I love you." He kissed her one last time and went limp in Kel's arms. _

Kel woke up with tears on her face. Every time she closed her eyes, the scene played on her eyelids. Kel got out of bed, washing the salt from her face. Someone knocked on her door, but she didn't feel like talking to anyone.

"Kel, it's Alanna. Open up or I'll get Raoul to take the door off it's hinges," Kel relutantly opened her door. "Have you eaten?" Kel shook her head, "Get dressed and we'll go to breakfast." Alanna shouldered her way into Kel's room and sat in her only chair. Kel raised her eyebrows in question. "I'm trying to avoid a repeat of yesterday." Kel's Yamani mask slid on as she collected clothing and headed into the privy to change. When she emerged, Alanna was still waiting for her.

"Let's go," she said, standing up and steering Kel out the door.

When they reached the mess, Kel saw a familiar scene. Neal sat a table, a plate of food ready for Kel. This time, instead of porridge, Neal had gotten crackers and water.

"You'll be able to keep this down, even with the morning sickness," he explained. Kel ate in silence, her stomach flip flopping inside her. When she had finally eaten enough to satisfy Neal, he allowed her to return to her room.

"Kel," Alanna said as she stood to leave, "You need to talk to the King, tell him what's going on. I'll take you to see him later today." Kel nodded glumly. While she did not want to explain her situation to the king, she knew she needed to.

Alanna came for Kel aound the tenth bell of the morning. Kel walked in silence, collecting her thoughts. Alanna took Kell not to where the King normally saw people, but instead to a more private study.

"Keladry," Jonathan said, "Sit down. Please accept my condolences on the death of your husband. Alanna told me you had something important to say, but did not tell me what it was." Alanna turned to leave, but Kel stopped her.

"Please stay," Alanna nodded and took the seat next to Kel. Kel took a deep breath, "Your majesty, I'm with child." Jonathan sat down, a look of shock passing briefly over his features.

"Who is the father?"

"Domitan of Masbolle, my late husband." A sprinkling of tears flowed down Kel's face as she remembered. Jonathan looked confused.

"Isn't he...dead?"

"I think it happened the night before we were called out. That was last week." Jon ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, you obvisouly can't fight."

"Please, no. I need to do something to keep my mind off...off," Ke choked, unable to remind herself again of the horrific events of the previous week.

"Can Kel help train the pages?" Alanna asked, "She's on the of the best knights at tilting, she's almost as good as me at the sword, _and_ she's one of the best in Tortall at the glaive."

"It does make sense," Jonathan conceeded, "the pages should learn the glaive. And I've been told you _are_ the best. WIll you do it?" Kel's mind raced. She wanted to keep her mind off Dom, but was this the best way? She could come up with several other possiblities, but none kept her-- and the child insider her-- safe.

"Yes, I'll teach them."


	4. Glaives

_Kel called out for a healer, holding Dom's head steady. One of the men of the Own appeared at her shoulder, sending his magic though Dom. _

_"Lady Knight, the arrow was magicked. He's dead." Kel heard a roaring as the world was thrown into sharp relief. Screaming her rage, Kel picked up Griffin and mounted Peachblossom, attacking the Scanrans that had killed her friend, her husband, her love._

"Why do we have to learn this stupid thing anyway?"

"Yeah, it's not like you can actually kill anyone with it." Kel heard the whispers of the pages as she strode toward the practice course, both live and practice glaives in hand.

"I am Lady Knight Keladry of Masb--Mindelan," she leaned her practice glaive against the fence. "I am going to teach you all how to fight with the glaive. Have any of you see it in use?" The boys shook their heads. "Then step back. The edge of the glaive is razor sharp." Kel plucked a hair from her head, laying it on the weapon's edge. It split in half. She hefted the glaive as the boys formed a semi-circle around her. Kel began one of the more complex pattern dances. She smiled inside as the pages watched the blue steel in admiration. Finishing the dance, Kel had the pages pick out practice glaives and began leading them in drills. She let them leave when the fourth bell after lunch rang. Returning to her room, Kel planned on spending time by herself, but found Neal waiting for her.

"Yuki wants to see you," he said, lounging in Kel's chair.

"Why are you here, then?"

"Well, Yuki decided it would be good for you to join us for dinner in the city. I was sent to collect you."

"I need to bathe and change first, I just got back from working with the pages."

"Then I shall come for you in one candlemark." Neal bowed mockingly and left Kel alone. She didn't feel like calling a maid to bring hot water, so she collected clean clothes and headed to the public baths. Soaking in the warm water, Kel had time to think. She didn't want to go to the city with her friends, but knew they would not allow her to stay at the palace. Kel looked at her wrinkled hands, deciding she had been in the water long enough. Kel captured the eye of one of the attendents, who brought her a robe. Kel ducked into a stall made for changing, emerging with clean clothes on. Pulling her wet hair inot a horsetail, she realized it needed cutting.

When Kel returned to her rooms, she found Yuki there, a green kimono over one arm.

"We are going somewhere nice, so I'm going to dress you up." Kel sighed, she wasn't sure she was ready for this. Yuki made Kel feel like a children's doll, dressing her up and doing her hair. When she had finished, Kel stared at herself in the mirror. If only Dom was around to see her....Yuki steered Kel toward the door, leading her to a carrage to take them into the city. Kel would have prefered to ride, but found it quite impossible in the tight skirts of a kimono. They made their way to a respectable eating place, finding Alanna, George, Raoul and Buri waiting for them. Kel realized this must have been a plan to get her out of the palace, since so many of her friends where there.

"Well, Kel, I hear you are taining the pages," Raoul began, "Good luck to you. You'll need it. Pages are always a handful."

"We weren't," Neal interjected.

"Oh, yes you were. From what I hear, you and Kel were especially troublesome." Kel smiled. She had forgotten the days when she was a page, insistent on protecting those less defiant than her. It looked like she still hadn't changed.

"That's not true," Neal exclaimed, "Those fights were all Kel's fault...she started the patrols!" Kel laughed for the first time since Dom had been taken, the unfamiliar expression feeling strange on her face. She quickly covered her feelings, ashamed that she could be happy so soon afterwords. Both Alanna and Yuki noticed.

"Kel, he would want you to be happy," Alanna began, but was left talking to air. Kel had stood and left abruptly, not telling anyone where she was going. Kel didn't know herself, she just wanted to get away from the people that reminded her constantly of her husband. Kel found herself walking in a daze, not paying attention to where she was going.

"Here's a pretty one..." she heard someone snarl from the shadows. Kel whirled to face her opponent. He had dark hair, looking more like a weazel than a man. "Come here, pretty. I won't hurt you...much," he laughed evily, reaching out to grab Kel. Her training took over as Kel threw the man over her hip. Kel cursed the narrow skirts that inhibited her movement, she would have a hard time fighting. One swift punch to the jaw was all it took to knock the weazel-man out, but he had friends lurking nearby. They circled Kel, watching to see what she would do next. Kel swore and ripped her skirt up one side. She knew it wasn't proper to show so much leg, but what she cared about right now was staying alive. Kel didn't even notice when men began to go down that she didn't hit. Soon, she felt a comforting presence at her back. Her rescuer and she circled, dealing with the last of the gang. George turned around, shocking Kel.

"Didn't know I could do that, didn't ya?" Kel stared at him in disbelief. "I used to be a rouge like them. In fact, I used to command the likes of them."

Kel gasped, "You were the King of Thieves?" George laughed.

"I was once, but turned respectable years ago. Come, let's go back to our friends. They're worried about you."

AN: Please review...please please please! Also, I don't own the characers, they belong to Tamora Pierce....who happens to be one of the best authors ever...Please review!

alannalovingwriter


	5. Childbirth

_Nine months later..._

Kel drilled the pages in a pattern dance, slowly going over each move. While her swollen stomach prevented her from wielding a glaive herself, she was still able to instruct the boys. Kel rested her hands on her belly, smiling as she felt the baby kick. She felt a shart pain in her abdomen, doubling over as the pages stopped fighting, looking at her with worried faces.

"Lady Kel--" one began, but Kel cut him off.

"Find Neal-- Sir Nealan of Queenscove. He should be in the infirmary." The page left at a run while the others helped Kel to a bench. Neal arrived in record time.

"Come on Kel, we need to get you to your room. You boy," he pointed to the largest of the pages, "help Kel up to her room. You," Neal gestured to another of the pages, "Go get Lady Knight Alanna." The boy hesitated; Neal pushed him forward, "She doesn't bite, Alanna was my knight master." He scampered off as Neal left Kel to get his healer's bag. The paged helped her to her room, the contractions making her double over in pain. Alanna made it to Kel's rooms just as she did. Laying on her bed, she held Alanna's hand as the contractions came faster. While Kel had been hurt in battle, this was different. The excitement of fighting helped to dull the pain then; the pain of childbirth was raw. Kel cried out as her child took it's first breath. She smiled at the tiny boy placed in her arms.

"Have you decided on a name?" Alanna asked softly.

"Dom."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kel laughed as she chased the toddler around her rooms. Capturing her son, Kel whirled him around, staring at his blue eyes. _Just like his father's._ Dom wriggled out of his mothers grasp, flipping bown hair out of his face. He opened Kel's door, running down the hall to Neal and Yuki's rooms.

"Uncle Neal, Uncle Neal!"

"What Dom?" Neal picked him up and balanced him on one hip. As hard as it was to believe, Neal had finally grown up. While he still kept his sense of humor, he had turned out to be a wonderful father-- and uncle.

"Umm...I forgot," the boy said. Neal laughed as Kel appeared in his doorway.

"Neal, can you watch Dom for awhile? I have to see some of the pages. They've been fighting. Again." Kel had become the training master after King Jonathan noticed how well she taught the pages. Neal grinned, the resemblance to her late husband pulling at her heart. Kel wasn't depressed like she was three years ago, but she would never fully get over Dom. Giving her son a quick hug, Kel left for her office.

"Shinko of Queescove, Theodore of Goldenlake. Come here," she commanded, frusturated that her friend's children were the ones in trouble Kel lectured them and let the pair go. _Gods, they reminde me of Neal and myself_. She smiled, shaking her head. Dom would probably be just like them.

AN: Disclaimer...blah, blah, blah, I don't own the characters...That's the end of the story, I know it's short, but I'm going to work on some other stuff now. Please read my other story and songfics! And please review! Thanks to all!

Alannalovingwriter


End file.
